A trail of blood had led the hunters right to their prey. Although their trap clamped its iron teeth into the mutant bear’s leg, this one was even larger than other specimen. When they had arrived, it had shrugged off the wound from metal clamp, treating it like a scratch. Almost twice the size of a normal female specimen, its height was more akin to a house, not to a living creature. Even so, the giant beast hadn’t stood a chance against the hunters.
Several dozen spears stuck out from the bear's thick, black fur. One had been lodged in the beast's cheek. Almost half of the shaft had disappeared into the mouth cavity and its soft flesh. Angled up, it had scrambled the monster’s brain and sealed its fate.
Around the creature, the leaves of autumn the autumn forest had almost disappeared, together with the trees they had fallen from. Only several broken tree stumps and some timber remained. The long battle had created a new clearing in the forest.
Although the bear had been a fierce opponent, it had never proven worthy for the experienced hunters. Still wary of a potential retaliation, careful steps brought the two Troari hunters up to their dying prey. Despite their small size, all Troari were excellent hunters, but these ones more so than most.
The male's long, scaly fingers held onto his spear with great force, ready to strike should the bear rise up one final time. Just before he came into striking distance, the sound of a broken twig in the distance gave him pause. Every animal had fled from the battle of the giants and left the forest deserted, so what could have made that sound. His powerful claws pushed him off the ground, a safe distance away from his prey. Yet when he scanned the surroundings with his reptilian eyes, he failed to find the source of danger he felt in his heart.
For the first time since he had become a true hunter, he was unsure of his own senses.
“Did you hear it too?” he asked his hunting partner as he closed in on her.
“I heard it too,” she confirmed, while both of them scanned the fallen forest before them.
“There it is again.” This time he heard the crinkle of leaves. Something closed in on them with measured and even steps, making no attempt to hide its presence. With the refined intuition of beasts, no prey would return to their scene of combat until after they had left. Even the scavengers would stay distant until the smell of the hunters had disappeared. Since no normal predator would move with such careless noise, only one option was left. This was an enemy.
Out of the trees stepped an ape-like, bipedal creature. Apart from the long hair flowing down its head, it was almost without fur. Yet it wasn't naked, since its body was covered by worn-down armor metal armor.
“But... I heard the humans were extinct,” his partner whispered, with a tremble in her voice.
“Please direct your complaints to the extinct specimen before us.”
Although the male hunter tried to joke, his voice was tense as well. This was no surprise, since he was old enough to have lived through the last great war against the humans almost a century ago. Even at their lowest, the humans had put up a fight worthy of their great rivals. In truth, humans were monsters far beyond the mutant bears, superior even to the Troari. If they had been united from the start, there was no telling which species would have come out the victor in their struggle.
Any survivor of the old wars would be a seasoned warrior and not easy to deal with. True enough, the creature was massive even for a human specimen. Twice as tall as the tallest Troari, and three times as wide, its bulging muscles moving under its simple leather armor. The missing eye as well as all countless other scars all over his face and hands told tales of its many battles.
Even so, this human was still dwarfed in size by the mutated bear. They had already taken down one prey today, so what difference would one more make? Without a need for coordination, the two experienced hunters split up and began to encircle the creature from both directions, ready to deal with their newest foe.
Out of nowhere, the human jumped out as if its weight had been a joke and closed the distance like a blur. The male hunter was dead before he could even lift his spear.
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[You have gained 5240 XP] [Level Up]
“Haaah, pointless.” Although he had questioned the second hunter for a while after he had taken down the first, Layne hadn't really learned much of anything in the process. At least she had known the position of the nearby hunter settlement, so for now he had a direction to head in.
“Well, I'm still getting stronger, if nothing else.”
Layne pulled his sword out of the hunter's head. The wet, scaly skin clung to the weapon, but its hold was no match for Layne's sheer force. Though he called it a sword, the thing was really just a giant slab of enchanted metal. As time went on and his strength had grown, most weapons could no longer withstand the force of Layne's strikes. Something like this, thick and uniform with no weak points, was about the only weapon still able to hold out under his blows.
For now, he decided to take a short break and move on after dinner. Under his mental command, dry twigs and leaves swirled up and combined into a pile, before a concentrated burst of energy turned the heap into a bonfire. With a precise mana cut, a piece of meat was pared off the giant bear's bones and transported over the fire, where it began to hover and rotate. When Layne had arrived, the bear had still been alive, but it had died at some point during his interrogation. While he waited for his meal to finish, the weary warrior sat down in front of the flames, his back against a sturdy tree stump, snapped off in the violent battle between hunters and bear.
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As always when he had the time, Layne looked down on his hands, a reminder of his past. The little burn on his right ring finger had come in the third year after the apocalypse, when he had fought his first hunter magician. Back then, the sudden appearance of magic had been a huge deal, though of course not half as big as the appearance of the hunters themselves.
There was a deep, triangular cut at the base of his left hand, as if someone had tried to fell it like a tree. This was one of the many wounds he had received in the last great war of humanity, in his battle against the king of hunters himself. Had he had a mirror, he could have seen the same types of wounds all over his body, scars from a lifetime of endless combat. Still, so long as he breathed, humanity would not be lost. His hands balled into fists of determination, before he calmed down again. Anger was good, and important; it would drive him on through adversity; but for now, food took priority.
Can't commit genocide on an empty stomach.
Before he could check on his bear meat, a swirl of unknown energy appeared between him and the fire.
Ambush!
How did the magician trick his senses? Before he even stood, his sword had already flown into his hand. He created some distance from the tree before he took his stance. If the enemy was dangerous, he needed some room to work. Yet when the energy disappeared, he was surprised to see a human. Not only that, it was a woman.
Before the apocalypse, her appearance might have placed her in her twenties. Smooth, young skin, clear eyes, long, wavy hair and an outrageous figure hidden under her long, clean dress. This wasn't the appearance of a human of this world. She was too clean, and too perfect. Whatever this thing was, it certainly wasn’t a person.
“Who are you!?” he growled as his muscles tensed.
“Player Layne, allow me to introduce myself.” Unfazed by his pressure or his sword, the strange woman bowed. “My name is Alana. I am the administrator in charge of earth during round one.”
“What are you talking about?”
With a smile, the woman pointed her index-finger in his direction, and Layne heard the old-familiar voice in his head, the one he had grown to hate.
[You have received the title 'One Who Has Met God']
“As you can see, I am the one in charge of the system, as you call it.”
No more words were needed. Layne's feet shot him off the ground and left two craters behind in the soft soil. When he landed again, he was already halfway past the woman's position. From his acceleration and the pivot of his legs, he drew all of his power and slammed his sword into the creature's torso. Yet the blow went right through her body and carried Layne with it. He caught his own power with a roll and turned to his enemy.
“Since your race has suffered so much, I can understand your frustration with the system. However, this form is nothing but a projection. Even I myself am no more than a messenger and hold no responsibility for the plight of your people. I believe I do not deserve your ire.”
Rather than answer, Layne just charged her again. This time he fired a blast of pure energy from his hands. Even if she was incorporeal, this would still wipe her out. The enormous ball of light swallowed her and carved a line of death several kilometers long through the forest. Yet after the light faded, the woman still stood there atop the gouged earth, unaffected.
“Please stop, player Layne. You cannot harm this projection no matter how hard you try. After all, the same system that bestowed your powers has also created this image. Rather than curse the system, you should be thankful we have released your planet’s life force and channeled it to you. How else could you have lived such a long life?”
For a moment he just stared at her with resentment, but then he understood what she meant by ‘life force’.
“The XP,” he realized.
“Indeed.” She nodded. “Before, the life force of the earth was only used to create souls for the newly birthed. However, after this world’s power was released, it enabled this incredible gain of force. A boon presented to your people by the great creator.”
After a few seconds of contemplation, Layne righted his posture and let out a tired groan.
“So what do you want?” He had no good feelings about the system. Even though it had made him strong, it had also brought with it the hunters, and humanity's downfall.
“I am here to officially inform you about the defeat of humanity. Once you surrender, the first round competition can be concluded.”
“Wait, what?” Layne was baffled first, then he felt his anger bubble up again. Was all of their suffering nothing more than a game for some gods?
“Normally, the round one competition is meant to continue until all participants of one race are eliminated. This time however, you have proven to be a real headache for us. Not only are you still alive after over a century of waiting, you have also grown far too strong. With your current power, you will not be eliminated any time soon. Thus, we are willing to make an exception.”
“You're expecting me to just lay down and die so you can get on with your game?” he asked in a deep growl, as his stance lowered again, ready for battle. Of course it was a pointless gesture, but old habits died hard.
“Of course not. Your survival is the exception I spoke of. We will allow you to continue living if you wish it. You will be able to continue your life, undisturbed, here on earth. All you need to do is declare your defeat and promise you will no longer attack the Troari, the winners of the competition.”
“We haven't lost. Not yet. So long as I'm alive, I can just go and kill all of these bastards by myself.”
A grim, manic smile formed on Layne's face, forged by centuries of torment. For the first time, he could see a reaction on the woman's face. He would have been fine with anger, fear, or revulsion, but she only looked sad.
“Participant Layne, alone, you cannot do anything. Even if you could kill every Troare, your race is doomed. You are alone. The last human female on earth died ten years ago.”
His grin turned dull as the reality sunk in. However, his determination soon returned, as it had done countless times before.
“And I'm supposed to just believe that?”
“You do not need to believe me. Please think about this yourself, think carefully. When was the last time you have met another human?”
Even now, the sadness on her face didn't fade, but it only made him more angry. He didn't need someone's pity, even less so that of a monster. Whatever this thing had planned, he wouldn't play along.
“No idea, but it doesn't matter. You and your system fucked us over one too many times. I don’t care if it’s inconvenient for you, my goals won't change. I won't stop until that hunter king bastard is ripped to shreds, together with his entire brood.”